The CONNECT Collaborator Series is an interview series where we host conversations with healthcare professionals and partners with the goal of encouraging deeper collaboration in the healthcare industry.
Watch the full CONNECT Collaborator Series video featuring our Co-Founder, Lorie Spence and the Executive Director of Women’s Health Collective Canada, Amy Flood.
Lorie Spence: Welcome to the Connect Collaborator interview series, where we host 10 minute conversations with healthcare professionals and partners with the goal of encouraging deeper collaboration in the healthcare industry.
Today’s guest is Amy Flood, Executive Director of Women’s Health Collective Canada.
WHCC was founded by the country’s leading women health foundations to amplify impact and break the barriers from providing women with equitable healthcare. Through intentional collaboration, WHCC brings together resources, research, and fundraising to address the wider gaps we can tackle on our own. Welcome, Amy, to the Connect Collaborator series.
Amy Flood: Thanks, Lori. Lovely to meet you. And thanks for giving this conversation the space it deserves. And thanks for inviting me to join today.
Lorie Spence: Fabulous. So maybe to start, since it is looking at women’s health and, you know, the status of that, you can give us a little bit more on what’s the current state of women’s health in Canada and maybe some of the gaps people aren’t aware of that the Women’s Health Collective is really working to close.
Amy Flood: Despite amazing progress being made, Women’s health in Canada is still very much underfunded, under researched, and often misunderstood. This is actually a global problem. So not unique to Canada, but definitely apparent in Canada.
So, despite us women making up over 51% of the population, women’s health actually only receives 6 to 7% of national health research funding. And that figure drops below 4% when you strip away oncology cancer. So we see the consequences of this every day. Women are waiting years for diagnosis. We’re being misdiagnosed, or we’re living with untreated conditions that limit our quality of life. And even our economic participation in terms of productivity in the workforce, et cetera. So these issues are not isolated incidents, but systemic results of really decades of underinvestment and exclusion. So Women’s Health Collective Canada was founded to really change this.
So we wanted to bring women’s leading health foundations together so that we can fund research, drive national collaboration, translate those findings into better care. But more and more every day, drive education and awareness of these gaps and the way women are feeling. So being true advocates for women in this space and really trying to drive for change.
So I would say while the gap is serious and significant, there is also really great progress happening right now here in Canada. We’re seeing corporate partners step up to invest. Women and their allies are demanding change and really starting to talk more about their experiences. And I’m sure you’ve seen the media and policymakers are paying more attention. So you can see this more and more, you know. In social media every day, even in kind of global media, but as well as in policy and government platforms for people who are running for those positions. So there’s a clear cultural shift.
Women are no longer being silent about their health, and men and allies are increasingly understanding that closing this gap isn’t just fair. It’s absolutely vital to the success of our future.
Lorie Spence: Maybe you can talk about how Canada compares to other countries and maybe not just the gap, but if there’s conditions that are more prevalent or, you know, areas that we’re focusing on that, you know, we could be acknowledged for.
Amy Flood: So I would first kind of say you know, Canada has many strengths. We have a universal health care system, we have strong maternal health programs, and we have growing national awareness of women’s health inequities. But compared to global leaders, we lag very much behind. According to the recent hologic Global Women’s Health Index, Canada’s actually ranked number 63 in the world for women’s health, which is very surprising given we’re a G7 country.
Countries like Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands are considered leaders in women’s health because they combine consistent, dedicated investment in women’s health research and services. They have integrated service delivery that embeds gender equity throughout the health care system rather than isolating specific programs, and they have strong policy frameworks with measurable targets and public accountability. The UK and Australia have recently set important precedents with their national women’s health strategies, and we just saw in the last two weeks that the EU is preparing to advance their similar initiatives. So this is really signaling global movement towards equitable health systems for women, which is great. By contrast, Canada allocates only about 6 to 7% of national health research to women’s health, compared to 10% in Australia and 9% in the U.S. so to truly lead, Canada needs to invest more strategically in women’s health research systems and services.
We need to integrate women’s health across the entire health system, not only in reproductive care. We need to develop a comprehensive national women’s health strategy with measurable goals. And this is really something that needs to be established in working at the federal level. And we really need to enforce sex and gender based variability and analysis across federally funded research to get to those outcomes.
Lorie Spence: What do you see as a leader in the space? Obviously, WHCC has a lot of access to different groups as well, but from, you know, funding or policy awareness, what’s really limiting the progress in women’s health in Canada?
Amy Flood: There’s real momentum right now, and this is the moment we need to seize this. And it’s vitally important that we do. So here’s really kind of how we see it.
First, we need to fund research investment. So when we fund research on how conditions present in women, we uncover insights that improve care for everyone. But most importantly, we correct long standing gaps that affect women deeply.
Secondly, we need full integration of women’s health across the entire system, not just in reproductive care, but in heart health, pain, brain health, cardio health, autoimmune diseases. Women’s health is not a niche issue and we need to stop treating it like one. We really need to look at it holistically. Our bodies, our genetic makeup, and our hormonal journey really impact everything that has to do with our physical makeup and our system.
Thirdly, we have an enormous opportunity to strengthen collaboration between the public sector and the private sector. So Examples of this are new partnerships that fund research, share knowledge, and accelerate how discoveries reach patients co development of national women’s health strategies with input from both the public sector, the private sector, and society at large. And then another example of this is how research investment can really feed directly back into public care. So helping clinicians provide more precise treatments, reduce strain on the system, and improve outcomes over time.
Lorie Spence: So obviously, one of the things that Bridge loves to do is empower females. And, you know, one of the things that we also want to understand is, you know, you say women might be unheard or dismissed in the healthcare setting. So what are some practical steps women can do to better advocate for themselves and their healthcare needs?
Amy Flood: Absolutely. So I think no one should have to fight to be believed about their own body, but many still do. So some suggestions on what women and their allies can do are like track your symptoms. When did they start. What do they feel like? How have they changed over time? Ask questions like, you know, what else could this be? Or can you explain why you’re not concerned? You know, when you’re talking to your primary caregiver or a physician, one tip I always like to say is bring a support person with you when you’re going to see, you know, a primary care provider, somebody who can take notes or reinforce your concerns and advocate for you in the room. It’s a lot of information coming at you, and sometimes you can, you know, really get paralyzed in the confusion. And so it’s really great to have that ally and extra set of ears that can bring clarity and that you can debrief with after an appointment. And go back. You know, if things don’t feel right and you don’t feel that you’ve been heard and what you’re there to achieve has not been addressed. You have every right to go back and ask more questions. So, you know, the real fix isn’t teaching women to advocate for themselves. It’s building a system that listens better. That means investing in research, training and policy so that women’s symptoms are recognized and taken seriously the first time.
Lorie Spence: Thanks. And obviously, one of the places we’re getting a lot of our information is online. And what advice do you have for women on finding reliable evidence based health information, you know, trusted sources or things that you would recommend?
Amy Flood: I think the Internet and social media, for example, can both be empowering and overwhelming. We’re bombarded daily with fixes, routines. Products, services that are really capitalizing on some of that confusion.
First, I would say my recommended approach would be to always start with your primary health care provider or family physician. They’re best equipped with your history and to give you reliable advice and information that’s specific to your journey and where you’ve been. I understand that many women in Canada do not have easy access to a family physician. This is a serious issue that deserves investment and attention as well. But if you want to look for more information online, start with trusted organizations. So places like Health Canada or provincial agencies, websites or major research hospitals such as Women’s College Hospital and trusted national health charities that publish peer reviewed or expert reviewed information really ask three questions. Who wrote this? Are they qualified? When was it published and is it a reputable institution? And when was it last updated? You know, always, when in doubt, check with your healthcare provider.
Even reliable information found online, you know, might not apply to your personal context. And so Dr. Google can be a scary place. And so make sure that you’re looking for evidence based information.
Lorie Spence: If you had a crystal ball and you’re looking five to 10 years in the future. What does success in the women’s health field look like for you, and what are our steps to get there?
Amy Flood: One thing that I would like to comment on in terms of what’s coming. Ahead of us is there’s a lot of exciting momentum and there’s a lot of exciting innovation that is happening in the research space. With the innovation that is coming in health research, the inequity and data information, treatments and standards of care could become exponentially worse. So if we’re putting only male data into AI and machine learning, the output will be incredibly biased. And with the onset of precision medicine, gene editing, gene therapy, it would be amazing to use this momentum in time to address the divide ahead and accelerate our learning. So that’s one piece I would definitely like to kind of impart in terms of the journey that’s ahead of us.
But I would really, you know, like to say success means that women’s health is no longer an afterthought. It’s built into every level of our health system, from research to policy to care delivery. So, you know, in five to 10 years, I would want to see research funding for women’s health. Moving beyond 7% and getting into the double digits. We’re 51% of the population. I think that’s, you know, what we deserve.
I want to see, you know, sex and gender based analysis embedded across all research. I would love to see a national women’s health strategy that holds Canada accountable with measurable. Goals. I’d love to see a healthcare culture where women are listened to, believed and cared for based on science that includes them.
And I would say on a personal level and why I’m in this space to begin with, ultimately, I want to see my 14 year old daughter and her generation of women dealing with fewer of the challenges that have been faced by my generation and countless women before us. I want her generation to be healthier and to feel confident in their health journey and for them to know that they are valued and powerful in every aspect of their being. A strong economy, a strong country and a strong world equals strong women within them, and it starts with their health. And for me, that’s really the crux of it.
Lorie Spence: Fabulous. So, Amy, where can we find out more about the Women’s Health Collective Canada and yourself?
Amy Flood: You can absolutely follow us on all social channels. So we’re on LinkedIn, we’re on Facebook, we’re on Instagram. We have a great website that is not only a resource hub for valuable information. But we have blogs and newsletters that go out on a monthly basis that share breakthrough research that’s happening right now that’s timely, that’s in the moment. So it’s real learnings and how research is progressing. So that’s whcc.ca and really with organizations like yourselves. We’re continuing to grow the awareness and education and share content like this on our website and through our social handles.
And we have a couple of really exciting events coming up. We’ve just started a new webinar series called Vital Talks. Our first one is October 29th, and it’s based on how to change the standard of menopause care in Canada. So that’s one I would really recommend tuning into. We have three more coming, and then we have a national Women’s Health Summit in March to look forward to.
So we’re really working to grow partnerships, strategic alliances to advance our mission and really grow that education and awareness and advance policy and make sure that women’s health and research is getting the attention it deserves.
Lorie Spence: Thank you so much for joining us, Amy. And obviously, the vital work that you’re doing with the Women’s Health Collective is on a mission to really drive equity and awareness and collaboration in women’s health. We really look forward to continuing to follow your impact in supporting you as you’re building momentum moving forward.
Amy Flood: Well, thank you so much again for having me. This was a great conversation, and as I said, I really appreciate organizations and initiatives like this that are giving this conversation the space it deserves, and we really appreciate you.
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